A faint coppery taste of blood lingered on Jiang Huai’s lips.
Luo Yueguan had bitten him, and this woman was clearly canine-like!
What a lunatic!
Luo Yueguan’s lips were icy cold. He felt as if he’d been lightly stung by a scorpion. Even though she was dressed in a fiery red gown and her face was alluring, it didn’t justify her suddenly biting him without reason.
“Sect Master Luo… are you a dog?” Jiang Huai’s fingertips lightly touched the spot she had just bitten, his gaze drifting to Luo Yueguan’s vibrant red lips. Her lips were as delicate and luscious as roses, and her eyes showed no hint of remorse.
“Can’t I bite?” Luo Yueguan was still sitting on Jiang Huai’s lap.
Jiang Huai’s hands were at a loss for where to go. If Luo Qingyu’s body was warm and soft, then Luo Yueguan’s body was as cold as ice. A bone-chilling cold had already begun to spread from her body to his.
It turned out she had already been suffering from the Ice Soul Profound Body to such a severe extent.
Jiang Huai was about to reason with her, but when his eyes fell on Luo Yueguan’s face and he saw her glistening eyelashes, the words of reason that had been on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.
Perhaps she had just had too much to drink and was venting some minor emotions.
“You’re so cold,” Jiang Huai said softly, no longer dwelling on why she had suddenly bitten him. He lowered his head and spoke to Luo Yueguan.
“Then let me go,” Luo Yueguan’s voice became slightly urgent.
Because at this moment, Jiang Huai, while saying she was cold, gently pulled her into his embrace, as if he were holding Luo Qingyu in the sun during the day.
Her body was already incredibly cold and had even blocked out the warmth from Jiang Huai. Yet, for some reason, her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Jiang Huai’s hands were like chains, though the chains were as thin as paper, and she could easily break free if she stood up. Yet, she remained unmoved, as if willingly bound in place.
Luo Yueguan couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had been held by someone.
Perhaps she had never truly been embraced gently in her life. Her mother in memory would only hold her and cry about her tragic life, venting all her pain onto her.
Perhaps the reason she suddenly leaned forward and bit Jiang Huai was because she remembered being held by that woman in the past, being gnawed on by her as she vented her emotions.
Jiang Huai felt Luo Yueguan’s body tremble. Despite the coldness of her body, her slender waist was excessively soft.
Jiang Huai remained silent, his gaze fixed on Luo Yueguan’s snow-white neck. He leaned closer. Perhaps it was because his breath, as it fell on her neck, caused Luo Yueguan’s neck to arch. She turned her head to look at Jiang Huai, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. “What do you want to do?”
“Give you a hug.”
“How dare you!”
“It was you who bit me earlier for no reason, which was far more excessive.”
Jiang Huai’s fingertips suddenly tickled Luo Yueguan’s waist. As he tickled her, he murmured, “You bit me, so I’ll tickle you.”
Luo Yueguan struggled in his arms, her fair, slender thighs kicking incessantly. A sound of uncontrollable laughter escaped her lips. After a while, Jiang Huai finally released his grip.
Luo Yueguan stood up and finally got off him. Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan in front of him and said softly, “Please take Qingyu to rest, change into some lighter, looser clothes, and then come to my room.”
His voice was commanding. Luo Yueguan paused, about to glare at him with a hint of a grumble, but Jiang Huai walked directly into the room as if he were certain she would come later.
Luo Yueguan picked up Luo Qingyu, returned to the room, and covered her with a quilt. She looked at herself in the mirror, but she couldn’t quite make out the expression on the woman’s face in the reflection.
***
When Luo Yueguan arrived at Jiang Huai’s room, she was still wearing the same bright red dance skirt.
Jiang Huai was currently sitting in a chair. The room was brightly lit. He looked at Luo Yueguan, who was standing before him, and grumbled with dissatisfaction, “Didn’t I tell you to change into lighter, looser clothes?”
“They’ll be taken off anyway, won’t they?”
Luo Yueguan raised her hand and gently pinched the red skirt with her fingertips. A moment later, the sound of tearing fabric filled the air. Her red skirt scattered on the ground like rose petals, and beneath it, there was nothing.
The room was so brightly lit that her slender, prominent body was completely visible in Jiang Huai’s eyes.
So much so that Jiang Huai instantly closed his eyes.
“What are you afraid of?” Luo Yueguan suddenly laughed.
Jiang Huai suspected this woman might have a penchant for exhibitionism.
“No, why… why do you start undressing whenever we disagree?”
“Didn’t you call me to your room for this very reason?” Luo Yueguan’s voice was scornful and cold. “You’re going to marry Luo Qingyu eventually, and you know I won’t stand by and watch you waste your cultivation for your entire life. Your master must have also told you about the origin of Qingyu, right?”
“I have never been intimate with any man, nor have I been tainted by any man. Now, you get to have me. After tonight, pretend this never happened. If you dare mention it again, I will take your life!”
Luo Yueguan suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of exhilaration, though she couldn’t explain why.
It was truly absurd.
For over six hundred years, she had struggled for the sake of what was fated, yet even now, it seemed she didn’t understand what she was struggling for or what she wanted to change. She once thought that if she were to be admired and feared by everyone someday, she would no longer be anxious day and night. But now, even as the Sect Master of Qingxuan Sect, nothing had changed.
What could fill the void in her heart? She didn’t know, and she no longer wanted to know.
“Why aren’t you opening your eyes to look at me?” Luo Yueguan gazed calmly at Jiang Huai before her.
“You… misunderstood my intentions,” Jiang Huai’s voice trembled slightly.
“Why pretend to be so virtuous and upright?” Luo Yueguan’s voice grew colder. “Qingyu and I are connected by heart. I’ve quietly seen everything you’ve done to Qingyu on a daily basis, but don’t think I’ll satisfy your perversions tonight. The dual cultivation will be led by me, and you are not allowed to move an inch.”
“You can see everything I’ve done to Qingyu?” Jiang Huai was somewhat surprised.
“She is, in essence, a manifestation of my Nascent Soul transformed through a secret technique.”
Jiang Huai had never heard of such a secret technique, but it did seem excessive. No, the topic had been diverted again. This wasn’t what he wanted to discuss.
“Sect Master Luo, you’ve misunderstood somewhat.” Jiang Huai’s eyes remained closed. “When I called you here, I wasn’t asking you to dual cultivate with me.”
“Are all you men so hypocritical? Or do you insist that I must take the initiative to yield to you, writhing beneath you?”
“I already said no!” Jiang Huai was getting a bit agitated. He used a faint wisp of spiritual energy to turn off the Firefly Stone lamp in the room. Now, only a faint moonlight from outside the window illuminated the room. He slowly opened his eyes, picked up all the silver needles arranged on the table, and focused his sight on Luo Yueguan. He could no longer see her clearly, only her silhouette, yet she was still beautiful, alluring, and fragrant.
Jiang Huai picked up a silver needle from the table, using his soul to sense the location of her acupoints. He poured medicinal liquid onto her snow-white, porcelain-smooth clavicle, watching the liquid slowly flow down her body as he softly said, “Spread this medicinal liquid evenly over your acupoints and stimulate it with a little spiritual energy to refine it.”
“What are you doing?”
“Qingyu’s Ice Soul Profound Body has only been present for over a decade, and the cold toxin hasn’t deeply penetrated into her bones. A single pill can resolve it completely. However, your Ice Soul Profound Body has been present for nearly six hundred years, deeply embedded in your bone marrow and cold meridians. It’s like freezing three feet of ice, which doesn’t happen in a single day. It will take some time to completely eradicate.”
Luo Yueguan dazedly extended her hand, her fingertips lightly rubbing the medicinal liquid Jiang Huai had poured onto her. Jiang Huai patiently explained, “Most of this cold toxin is hidden within your acupoints. I had previously considered whether using the method of opening acupoints could also force out the cold toxin. I’ve researched this for a year or two, and now I have some confidence.”
“One or two years?” Luo Yueguan was taken aback.
“Two years ago, I asked you in the courtyard about your health and the principles of the Ice Soul Profound Body, and I even took your pulse. Do you remember?”
Luo Yueguan suddenly recalled that two years ago, she had visited Chu Xianning’s courtyard. Such an event had occurred, but she had only thought Jiang Huai was casually curious and hadn’t paid much attention to it.
“You…”
“Since then, I’ve been researching the Ice Soul Profound Body and have consulted many old scrolls. I have a general understanding of it. For Sect Master Luo to cultivate to the Eighth Realm with the Ice Soul Profound Body, the effort required is more than three times that of an ordinary Eighth Realm cultivator. Sect Master Luo’s willpower is truly tenacious.”
“A portion of the worldly spiritual energy you absorb during cultivation is converted into cold toxin by the Ice Soul Profound Body. This cold toxin is now a poison spirit that has entered your acupoints. I will try to kill the poison spirit with a soul needle. If you feel any discomfort during this process, don’t bear it, just tell me.”
Jiang Huai said softly, while with his other hand, he held a silver needle and gently inserted it into her left shoulder.
It didn’t hurt.
Luo Yueguan only felt a faint warmth emanating from her shoulder. Her gaze fell on Jiang Huai’s face, but they were in darkness, only able to see each other by the faint moonlight. She gazed deeply into those earnest eyes, feeling an indescribable emotion, as if a bottle of multi-colored soy sauce had been overturned, spilling everywhere.
“Do you feel any warmer?” Jiang Huai asked softly.
“Yes…” Luo Yueguan was startled, and her voice became somewhat choked.
“That’s good. Then I’ll move on to the next acupoint.” Jiang Huai picked up another spiritual array, infused it with his soul power, and gently poked Luo Yueguan’s waist ribs.
Although there was a slight accident during the process, the result seemed to be that it was indeed more convenient for her to take off her clothes directly. Jiang Huai’s soul needles consumed a great deal of his soul, and he dared not delay. He immediately condensed the next soul needle and gently inserted it into her next acupoint.
About two sticks of incense later, Jiang Huai had already placed thirteen needles.
Luo Yueguan looked at Jiang Huai. She seemed to sense that Jiang Huai’s soul aura had become extremely weak. Jiang Huai’s faint murmur reached her ears, “I seem to be a bit overdrawn… I might faint for a while. You can remove the needles in about two minutes.”
With that, his vision went black, and he collapsed.
Luo Yueguan gently reached out and caught his body, letting his face bury itself in her soft chest.
She lowered her head, staring blankly at the unconscious Jiang Huai in her arms. Her fingertips seemed to feel the warmth of his body, slowly spreading into her very bones.
